The Republic of Korea is considered a potential market for Vietnamese goods, where as many as 116,000 Vietnamese have been living and working in ten provinces and cities.
Le An Hai, trade councilor to Vietnam
in the RoK said that to fully tap the market, Vietnam has co-ordinated with the
RoK’s distribution groups to build a warehouse in 10-14 cities in the RoK. Vietnam’s trade
office in the RoK will implement the plan by 2012 and more and more Vietnamese
goods will penetrate the RoK supermarkets. 
Hai said that Vietnamese goods have been introduced into the supermarket chains in the RoK such as Lotte Mart, Home Plus and Tesco. However, it is difficult for Vietnamese people to get access to these goods. He emphasized that Vietnam has cooperated with Lotte Mart and other supermarkets in the RoK so that Vietnamese goods can be sold directly to Vietnamese nationals. It has also provided the Vietnamese bride community in the RoK with information on these distribution channels.
The “Vietnamese goods” event was held at Lotte Mart supermarkets for the first time from November 11-17. All kinds of household utensils and food were sold out in the first day and these supermarkets had to import more goods from Vietnam to meet consumer demands.
Lotte Mart said it plans to bring Vietnamese goods to supermarkets in ten major cities.
The quality of Vietnamese goods has gained its competitive edge. For example, many RoK businesses, which imported farm produce, garments and textiles from China in the past, have now decided to import goods from Vietnam. In addition, RoK businesses in Vietnam have also contributed to boosting the growth of Vietnamese exports to the country.
Hai also stressed that Vietnam is one of nations which have made use of the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA). In the future, Vietnamese businesses will take full advantage of incentives in the FTA to boost the growth of exports to the RoK.
According to Vietnam’s trade office in the RoK, Vietnamese businesses have introduced some farm products to the RoK such as fresh vegetables, dragon fruit, and cabbage in the future.
In 2010, Vietnam exported 15,000 tones of rice to the RoK.
(VOVNEWS)
